xviii, 586 pages : 25 cm

Samuel Barber (1910-1981) is one of the most admired and honored American composers of the twentieth century. An unabashed Romantic, largely independent of worldwide trends and the avant-garde, he infused his works with poetic lyricism and gave tonal language and forms new vitality. He left a rich legacy in virtually every genre, including the famous Adagio for Strings, Knoxville: Summer of 1915, three concertos, many songs, and two operas--the Pulitzer Prize-winning

Vanessa and Antony and Cleopatra, the commissioned work that opened the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center in 1966. Generously documented by letters, sketchbooks, autograph manuscripts, and interviews with friends, colleagues, and performers with whom he worked, this is the first book to cover Barber's entire career and all of his compositions; it interweaves the events of his life with discussion of the music, displaying the genesis, shaping, and reworking

Of his artworks into their final stages. Heyman provides the social context in which a major composer grew; how he learned his craft and built his career; the evolving musical tastes of American audiences; his relationship to musical giants like Arturo Toscanini and Serge Koussevitsky; and the role of radio in the promotion of his music. Myths are dispelled about the depression of Barber's late years, his heroes are revealed, and his spiritual quests and personal demons

Are illuminated. A testament to the significance of the new Romanticism, Samuel Barber stands as a model biography of an important musical figure

Includes bibliographical references (pages 522-530) and index

1. Beginnings -- 2. A Serious Student. The Curtis Institute of Music, Scalero, Menotti, First publications, Three Songs -- 3. Discoveries. Summers in Europe, the Menotti family, Serenade for String Quartet, Unpublished early works: Violin Sonata, Piano Concerto, Organ Prelude and Fugue, Interludes for Piano, Carillon pieces -- 4. Uncertainties. Overture to The School for Scandal, Dover Beach, Composer as singer -- 5. Independence. Cello Sonata, Music for a Scene from Shelley, Incidental Music for One Day of Spring -- 6. The American Academy. Symphony in One Movement, Chamber Music, String Quartet -- 7. Recognition. The Toscanini premieres: Essay for Orchestra, and the Adagio for Strings, Choral works -- 8. Prelude to War. Violin Concerto, Four Songs, Second Essay -- 9. World Cataclysm. Commando March, Funeral March, Second Symphony, Night Flight, Four Excursions, Capricorn Concerto -- 10. Middle Years. Cello Concerto, Medea, Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Piano Sonata -- 11. Composer as Conductor -- 12. Song Cycles. Melodies passageres, Souvenirs, Hermit Songs, "Adventure" -- 13. Searches. Prayers of Kierkegaard, Summer Music, "Horizon" -- 14. Vanessa -- 15. Interlude. Wondrous Love, Nocturne, A Hand of Bridge, Toccata Festiva, Die Natali -- 16. Lincoln Center Commissions. Piano Concerto, Andromache's Farewell -- 17. A New Opera House. Antony and Cleopatra -- 18. The Last Years. Despite and Still, Choral works, Mutations from Bach, The Lovers, Fadograph of a Yestern Scene, Three Songs, Ballade, Third Essay, Canzonetta for Oboe and String Orchestra

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